TheStrongest Bond of Love
by Amanda Drowry
Summary: Voldemort plans to kill Harry by using his servant at Hogwarts and by attacking what Harry holds most dearHermione. AN: Based before HBP. Also, review me! I want to know your ideas and hypothesis' concerning who Voldemort's servant is. Pre HBP. Sorry, I w
1. Secret Admirer

**The Strongest Bond of Love**

**CHAPTER 1:**

**SECRET ADMIRER**

"Well mate," Ron yawned as he stretched his arms high over his head, "I'm going up. You comin'?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec. I just have one more inch left on Professor McGonagall's essay," Harry answered.

Ron walked upstairs to the dormitory, his school books and bag in tow. Hermione had finished her work and gone back to her room an hour before, now it was only Harry in the common room.

Harry was quite proud of himself. This was the first night in about a month where he had actually finished a homework assignment on his own, with no assistance from Hermione. He was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate, especially with Voldemort freely wandering the planet. Harry never felt safe, and he was always thinking about that time in the near future-when he would face Voldemort for the last time. One of them would have to die.

Harry banished the thought from his mind and stuffed his things into his school bag. But as he walked towards the door that led to the common rooms he noticed a half burnt piece of parchment lying in the empty fireplace. Wondering if it was anything important, Harry picked it up and examined it. He was shocked when he realized what it was.

He slowly walked up stairs to the dormitories reading what was written the whole time. Not believing a word the parchment said, and yet being incredibly intrigued as to who the author was. When he reached the dormitory, he gave Ron the parchment and told him to read it.

"Hell Harry, what is it about you?" Ron smirked after reading what was written. "No matter what the rest of us do it's always you that winds up with all the attention and all the fame and all the money and all the gir…"

Thankfully for Harry, Ron's comical tirade was stopped short by a loud snore from Dean's bed.

"It's nothing Ron. Probably some crazy first year like Ginny was. Nothing for you to get all crabby about," Harry mocked playfully.

Ron had a point though. No matter what Harry did he always wound up with all the fame and fortune. Everybody wanted to be around him, everybody wanted to know him. Hell, everybody wanted to be him. He wished that sometimes he could just be a normal sixteen year old boy, and not a hero.

Harry sighed as Ron began to snore quietly from his bed, and soon, he followed suit.

It was very dark. The only light came from a fireplace directly behind her Master. It was placed so that He could see her, but He was barely visible. But it didn't matter. Her Master did not need to be seen to be feared or awed. His height alone was astonishing. And His voice, you could never get over that voice. You could never escape or run from that icy cold and calculating voice.

"My Lord," the girl managed to whisper. She was on her hands and knees, her head bowed as low as was possible. She wasn't entirely sure if such an act was appropriate, but better to over do the worship than under do it. This was the first time she had ever been in the presence of The Master.

"Why have you come here?" His voice showed no emotion. She could not tell whether he was angry or pleased. It unnerved her, but she refused to whimper like a baby before the man that she had been taught to worship her whole life.

"I wish to help you My Lord," her voice grew stronger with every syllable she uttered. This she knew, this she could do. She had spent months planning this speech, thinking over her plan. It was foolproof. She had access to everything needed, and she was in the perfect position to carry out the most important work of The Master.

"With what? Your are but a child, and a rather puny one at that," she could now hear the traces of humor in His voice. But as respectful as she knew she must be, she had come much too far to be humiliated in front of her Master. And nobody called her puny.

"I have come here because I have direct access to something that you may be very interested in, My Lord."

"And what is that, my dear?" His voice was mocking, at the moment. But with her next words the smile was gone from His lips and He became the serious man that was Voldemort.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, my Master, and Harry Potter."

"You'll never guess what Harry found last night in the fireplace, Hermione," Ron uttered between bites of food. They were all seated at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Hermione had just arrived and Ron, of course, had immediately jumped into the tale.

"What Ron? A half burnt log that resembled a Snitch?" Hermione asked sarcastically.

"No, better! A love note-for him!" Ron started laughing uncontrollably at his own comment. So hard, in fact, that he fell out of his seat and needed to be helped back up by both Harry and Hermione.

"It's not a big deal," Harry said after Ron was once again safely seated at the table. "I don't even know who wrote it, the whole bottom of the letter was burned off. Ron, though, had to make a big deal about it."

"Like hell it's not a big deal, Harry. Come on Hermione, pick on him a little. He has a secret admirer. Oh come on," Ron shouted as Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up to leave the table. "Don't you even want to know what it said?"

"Ron, I have no interest in Harry's love life whatsoever. Why should I care if some girl likes him and wrote him a letter? It's also none of my business, just like it's none of your business; and if Harry found it in the fireplace than it was obviously not supposed to have been any of his business either," and with that Hermione left the Great Hall.

"What the bloody hells got into her?" Ron asked Harry, who just shrugged.

Hermione walked as quickly from the Great Hall as she possibly could without looking suspicious. She knew that her face was red and flustered and she could feel her heart beating fast.

_"What if he found out?"_

But that wasn't possible; Ron had said the whole bottom of the letter had been burned off. She couldn't believe the nerve of Ron, asking her if she wanted to know what it said.

"Shit!" she cursed out loud; which was something she never did. But how could this have happened? No, Hermione didn't need to know what the letter said. She already knew.

_"Damn it, how could I have been so stupid to write something like that?"_


	2. Invisible Infatuation

**The Strongest Bond of Love**

**CHAPTER 2:**

**INVISIBLE INFATUATION**

Harry pulled the half burned letter out of robe for the sixth time that day.

Dearest Harry,

There is so much I'm longing to tell you about my feelings. I yearn to say that you are the subject of my every dream. You are the one that makes my face blush and my heart flutter. No matter how close I am to you, I'm never close enough. I try my hardest to pay attention in class and to study, but my mind always wanders to your face. I love you Harry. I love you more than you can ever imagine. And all I can do is hope that one day you will love me too. Maybe one day you will realize that I……

That was all Harry could read, the rest of the letter had been burned away in the fire. He stopped in the middle of the corridor and stared at the words. The writing was familiar, but that didn't mean a lot. Harry couldn't understand it, from the moment he had read the letter last night, he could not get it out of his head. For some reason he felt a very strong connection with the writer, whoever she was.

Harry's imagination ran wild every time he read the letter.

_"She dreams about me? What kind of dreams?" _Harry wondered. Was he being heroic in her dreams, or romantic, or… What was he doing?

"Damn it," Harry whispered. He was getting all worked up about a stupid love letter written by some anonymous girl. But just the same, there was something about this letter that he recognized. Every time Harry read the letter a name would be on the very tip of his tongue, but before he realized who it was the letter would end, and the name would retreat again to the back of his mind.

"Hey mate," Ron came running down the stairs from the dormitories. Harry quickly stuffed the letter into his pocket, not wanting Ron to break into another harassing barrage of jokes.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for Care of Magical Creatures if you don't stop staring at the floor and get your ass moving. Hurry Harry," Ron laughed as he half drug Harry down the corridor. But Harry wasn't paying any attention to Ron, because once again his mind had drifted to the mysterious letter and the identity of the writer. Was it possible that he was really infatuated with someone he didn't even know? It couldn't be love could it?

Harry smiled. Love. That's what the letter had said-love. Every time he read that letter his heart would swell and he would yearn to know who the author was. In fact, Harry wouldn't admit it, but he had become addicted to the words on the parchment. He knew he had become secretly infatuated with this invisible and anonymous girl, and all Harry could do was pray that he would find out who the author of the letter was. Soon.

There he was. God, didn't he ever brush his hair? Not that it mattered. If her plan went as smoothly as she hoped he would be dead soon. Him, and anyone else who got in her way. Including that pathetic Ron Weasley and know it all Hermione Granger.

_"Ugh!" _she thought. There was that oaf Hagrid. Care of Magical Creatures was undoubtedly her least favorite class, and it was not made any better by the fact that they were taught by that disgusting monster.

This was something new, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had never had this class together before. Usually the Gryffindors had this class with Slytherin and History of Magic with Ravenclaws. But, Dumbledore had decided to juggle some things around this year. No matter, she could spy and watch her pray anywhere- be it outside or in a cramped and boring classroom.

"Righ' everyone, gather 'roun," Hagrid called in his clumsy and poor English. She walked closer to him with the rest of the class, wondering what kind of deadly animal from the forest they would be facing again today.

"Now, today's gonna be a bit simpler 'en usual. I managed to lure a couple er Tree Nymphs up to me home. So terday, wer gonna be watchin 'em and playin' wit 'em."

Tree Nymphs-they looked like twigs, until you pissed one the hell off and then they all played their favorite game of "fuck you up." The Golden Trio, of course, were the first to get within three feet of where Hagrid had placed the Nymphs. And feeling the need to protect their pet, Hagrid, proceeded to try and grab a couple from their cage.

"Now what er ya doin? That aint 'ow ya catch a Tree Nymph! Ya gotta kinda sweet talk 'em a little, coax 'em outta there. Their jus' a bit frigh'ened, thas all," Hagrid stated bluntly, and as usual he was perfectly oblivious to the obvious danger that these tiny camouflaged creatures exhibited.

She continued to watch as that Granger girl held her hand out to the nearest Tree Nymph. She started making some strange cooing noises, obviously what she considered coaxing, but it didn't seem to work as many of the Nymphs began hissing at her. They even began making the same cooing noise back at her. The smart ass girl stood up quickly and glanced at Hagrid, who continued to smile his dumb oblivious smile.

But within a matter of five minutes, the entire class had managed to group up with someone and acquire a Nymph. The girl glanced across at Cho Chang, Harry Potter's previous squeeze and the girl she had gotten stuck with as a partner. Who Harry was fucking now, not even she knew-yet.

Chang kept going on and on about how cute the living twig in front of them was, to which the girl simply responded with a grunt and an occasional _"Uh-huh"._ _There is no escaping the idiots at this school, is there._ She had managed to drag Cho to a place that was a reasonable distance away from the Golden Trio, however, and with the charm she had earlier placed on herself, she had no problems listening in on their conversation.

Like usual, it was a completely worthless topic, something about Harry's newest secret admirer. Weasley was making a big deal out of it, just as he does everything else; but Granger shockingly, was trying to be completely oblivious in the conversation.

_"Not very much like the snappy, loud-mouthed, know-it-all Ms Granger to stay silent during one of Weasleys outbursts." _she thought. Interesting, maybe it wouldn't be so difficult to figure out whom Potter's squeeze was after all; and besides, it had been obvious that him and Granger were going to get together sometime. For some reason, Potter had never been able to keep his eyes of Granger's ass.

Finally, class was over. The girl was the last to leave Hagrids cabin, however, she didn't want to be seen by the Golden Trio. She walked up the hill towards Hogwarts quite alone, everyone else in the class was very far ahead of her, but then she felt a sharp poke in her left leg. She spun around, flinging a tiny Tree Nymph onto the ground in front her. The nymph stood up and immediately started jabbering at her, shaking it's tiny fist, and readying a small blast of magic to shoot at the girl that stood before it.

"So that's your game, huh?" she said, leaning down close so that she could look the nymph in the eye. "You are rude and stupid enough to follow me, and then you threaten me as if it was I who inconvenienced you!" she smiled when the Nymph grew quiet. Its tiny eyes began to grow, but they weren't allowed to get as big as they could have.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Binn's class, History of Magic. It has no competition as the most boring subject in the whole school. Harry yawned and stared with glazed eyes at the see through Professor Binns. Ron was snoring quietly beside him, but as usual, Hermione was the only one in the class paying attention and taking feverish notes.

His secret admirer flashed through his mind quickly and he smiled. To think, that somewhere in this school, possibly in this class, there was a girl who was raptly in love with him. He yawned again and decided he would attempt to pay attention.

Harry grabbed his quill and became writing a few snatches if Professor Binns' speech down on his blank parchment. But Harry's attempts were futile and within a minute he was once again thinking about that love letter.

_"This is insane, I can't even think." _Harry thought to himself. Harry glanced over at Hermione's notes to see where she was. He went back to writing on his paper—

Harry's mind went blank, and without moving his head he looked again down at Hermione's paper; and their, in notes concerning the Second Wizard Wars of the 1000's, was the same handwriting that filled his love letter.

Hermione glanced at Harry, wondering what he was doing. Her eyes met his and she realized what had just happened. She glanced down at her notes, and then back into Harry's eyes which hadn't moved. He was staring wide eyed at her, as if seeing her for the first time. Realizing that Hermione had never been just a friend, there had always been something else there. A need to be with her, and urge to protect her, and a want to make her happy. Now Harry could understand it, in fact, he understood everything.

He had felt such a strong connection with the author of the letter because he knew the author. And he wasn't infatuated with the author, he realized it now, staring into her eyes, he had always loved Hermione. He always would.

He wanted to reach towards her, tell her he loved her. He wanted to hold her tighter than he had ever held anyone before, but just when he made a move the bell rang.

Hermione could not believe she had just zoned out for the last ten minutes of class, and in Harry's eyes no less. But God, they were beautiful. The bell had snapped her out of her trance though, and she realized now, he knew.

She grabbed her school bag as fast as she could and ran out of the classroom. She had to get away from Harry, she had to. She didn't know why, but she had always felt guilty for loving him. But now he knew; now it was different. How could she stay away from him? Just as Hermione stopped at the staircase, wondering where she should go now, she was grabbed by the arm from behind. She spun around to come face to face with the very boy she was trying to hide from.

Harry did nothing but look into her eyes, her big beautiful amber eyes. Why had he never noticed them before? He gently led Hermione outside the castle and down by the lake. Luckily it wasn't too cold today. He sat her down on a bench and looked at her. Her eyes, her lips, her long curly hair that always smelled of Strawberries he now realized. She looked back at him, biting her lip. Her heart was beating fast; he knew it from her letter.

"You love me, don't you?" Harry asked her. Hermione bowed her head and said nothing. He placed his finger beneath her chin and pushed her head back up so that her eyes could meet his. He shook his head no.

"Don't be scared, or ashamed, or whatever," he said, "just tell me".

"I love you," her voice was quiet, but strong. Her eyes showed conviction and they mirrored her words. Harry leaned down close to her ear, breathing in the scent of her hair. He had always known her hair smelled like strawberries, he must be in love. Why had it taken him this long to realize it?

"I love you too," he whispered into her ear. Then he moved his lips so that they touched hers. He placed his arm around Hermione, continuing to kiss her. She kissed him back, softly. It was the nicest thing he had ever experienced. Cho's kiss was a slobbery dog lick compared to this.

_"Holy shit!" _he thought, _"I'm in love with my best friend"._


	3. Realizations

**CHAPTER 3:**

**REALIZATIONS**

A/N Okay, yes I know my penname is the same as the name of the new DADA teacher. It's not really my fault. All you need to know is that Drowry is a part of me and that she does exactly what I would do if I were in the same situation! Remember that throughout the story and into the sequel! Also, if you have started formulating ideas on who Voldemort's secret servant is, review me and let me know! I am curious to see if you guys can figure it out!

As Harry kissed Hermione he was unaware of the eyes watching him from the other side of the lake. An evil smile grew across her face as she watched the couple on the bench. They were happy now. But she would make sure it didn't last very long. She was determined to strip Potter of everything he cared about and everything he had. Starting with his friends, moving on to his new fuck toy, then his sanity, and last- his life.

"You will pay for what you did to the Dark Lord, insolent bastard. And everyone you've come close to will pay as well." She new that as soon as Potter started to fall the only thing in her way would be Dumbledore, and the Dark Lord had promised to take care of that senile old man.

"Count your days Potter, because before you know it, your world will be spiraling beyond anyone's control."

Harry's kisses had started as tender pecks and tingles of sensation. But the longer he kissed her, and the longer Hermione continued to meet his every move, he could only kiss her more deeply. He began to kiss her harder, he pressed closer to her on the bench. His hands wrapped around the small of her back and under her robes. His fingers began to stroke the skin between her school shirt and her skirt. All this time Hermione continued to kiss him back, her arms had encircled his neck, keeping him from going up for air. They sat on the bench, oblivious to everything and everyone. Even oblivious to the girl standing across the lake.

Harry's hands began to crawl under Hermione's shirt and up her back. He didn't know what he was doing; he just knew it felt right. His hands continued to move, encouraged only by Harry's hardness and Hermione's refusal to stop this craziness. Harry began to lay Hermione down on the bench, his hands moving from her back to her front. Hermione moaned when she felt his hands on her bellybutton, her moaned turned into a gasp when his hand grazed across her bra, her breasts.

But, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. At the same moment it seemed Harry and Hermione realized what they were doing and stopped. Harry sat up suddenly, quickly removing his hands from underneath Hermione's shirt and turning away from her to hide his growing erection. Hermione quickly pulled her shirt down and wrapped her robes tightly around her. They sat their silently for several moments, thinking about what had just happened, and how far it had gone.

"I'm sorry," said Hermione quickly.

"No, don't be. It was my fault," Harry stammered, greatly embarrassed by the bulge in his pants. "I was the one who kissed you, you didn't do anything."

"I didn't try to stop you," Hermione countered. Her face looked scared and nervous, but inside she was smiling. She had never felt like that before. Never in a million years had she ever imagined that Harry would do such a thing-to her. She had only ever dreamed it. She was also trying very hard not to laugh at Harry. She knew perfectly well what he was hiding; she had felt it-she had been the cause of it she now realized!

Hermione let out a laugh, she couldn't help it. Harry turned around quickly and looked at her, not carrying anymore about hiding his passion from the girl that had caused it. He looked at her and laughed also. He now realized how utterly ridiculous this whole situation was. He had meant to find out whether Hermione was his secret admirer or not, and he had wound up practically fucking her right here on the bench. He leaned towards her and gave her another quick peck on the lips, just to show that he was okay.

He didn't know what to think. This realization was beyond anything he had ever expected to know, or see. He supposed he should be happy for them. But inside, Ron's heart ached. Ever since fourth year he had pined for Hermione, never daring to act because of their friendship. He had been jealous of Viktor Krum, but how could he be jealous of Harry-how could he be jealous of his best friend? Ron was not angry, just filled with sadness. Ron had been shocked when Harry and Hermione had run out of History of Magic as soon as the bell had run. So he had run after them through the halls, only to come across the tender scene that he had just witnessed-his two best friends making out on a bench.

Ron shook his head. _Did they have to do that kind of stuff in broad daylight? Couldn't they get a room or something?_ It didn't take Professor Trelawney to figure out that Ron was not only upset by his friends' conduct, but shocked at the fact the were getting it on in plane view of, well, everyone.

He looked back in the direction of his friends. They were acting very embarrassed. _Hmm, I wonder why._ Ron shook his head and walked back into the school. He stopped at the stairs to wait for Harry and Hermione who were on their way in.

They both stopped when they saw Ron, neither knowing what to say or do.

"Uh, Ron…mate. I, uh, figured out who my secret admirer was," Harry told him.

"Yeah, I saw," Ron answered.

"You saw!" Hermione covered her mouth and looked at Harry; he too looked even more embarrassed than he already had.

"Don't worry about it. Shit happens," Ron waved his hand at the shocked Hermione. "Besides, I'm your guys' friend. Why should I care whether or not you two have the hot's for each other." Just then, a hooded figure ran in from outside and ran into Harry.

"Watch where you're going, you bastard!" a feminine voice spat out from underneath the hood.

"Now just a second," Ron shouted as he grabbed the arm of the girl as she made to walk away, "you ran into him. You're the one that should be apologizing." The girl moved to hit Ron for delaying her in the entryway, but Ron was too quick and threw her down on the ground. She jumped up quickly, throwing her hood off, and ran towards Ron.

"Miss Edgecombe that is enough!"

The girl stopped and looked at the Ravenclaw Head Girl that had just appeared from the Great Hall.

"How dare you act that way, especially towards Mr. Harry Potter and his companions," Penelope Clearwater stated. "First you shall apologize, and then you shall proceed directly back to our common room and write fifty lines stating that you will never be rude again!"

"Yes Penelope."

"I apologize to all of you. I'm afraid Marietta Edgecombe has not been very fond of you three since the incident with Professor Umbridge last year. I shall see that this does not happen again," Penelope apologized to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked into the Great Hall for lunch. Unaware of the hate filled eyes that continued to watch them.

"You're positive that it was an unforgivable curse that killed the Nymph Severus?"

"Positive Headmaster. In fact, I can tell you that it was in fact the Avada Kedavra curse that killed the creature," Snape answered Dumbledore.

Hagrid had come across the dead Nymph less than an hour before as he walked to the castle for lunch. He was now sitting in a corner of Dumbledore's office, crying loudly and uncontrollably.

"Hagrid?" Dumbledore questioned. "Hagrid? You need to tell me exactly what happened today, and when and how you found the Nymph."

"Well, I had ter kids studyin them Tree Nymph en me class. One of da Slytherin girls found 'im dead on 'er way to me class. Made a load a ruckuss, she did, but dats when I found Twiggy." At that, he once again broke into a chorus of loud sobs.

Dumbledore walked over to Hagrid and lay his hand on the half-Giants back. Snape rolled his eyes, _What kind of a name is Twiggy?_ Professor McGonagall was also seated in front of Dumbledore's desk; lost deep in thought.

Dumbledore stood up. "Who could have killed the Nymph? I have put protection charms around the school grounds myself to ensure that no Death Eaters come onto the grounds, and even if they did manage, none of them would be dumb enough to leave such a tell tale clue that they had been here. It would only serve to improve security at the school," it was quite clear that Dumbledore was mumbling to himself as he paced the small office. Something he rarely did in the company of the Hogwarts staff.

"Headmaster, if I may suggest…" Snape started.

"No Severus! No! I will not be persuaded to believe that one of our students killed this creature," he pointed to 'Twiggy' who was lying on his desk. "I simply will not believe it."

"But Headmaster," Snape continued, "There are students at the school, many of which in my Slytherin group, who have parents that are known Death Eaters. It would be an easy feat for those students to learn such a terrible spell. And it would be great fun to them to be able to use it, especially on such a creature. You must entertain the possibility, Headmaster, of a student being responsible for this act."

Dumbledore sat back down behind his desk and placed his head in his hands. He was busy and stressed enough with the war to think about. How was he supposed to take the news that either Death Eaters had access to the Hogwarts grounds, or a student at the school could perform the most heinous spell ever known to the wizarding world? It certainly wasn't welcome news to the tired Headmaster.

"Hagrid, I am very sorry about Twiggy," Dumbledore told him. "Why don't you go back up to your cabin, make yourself some tea and get some rest? We will find the perpetrator, don't you worry."

As Hagrid left the Headmasters office Dumbledore looked around at Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin. "Minerva, Severus, Remus, I want you three to keep your eyes and ears open for anything suspicious. Notify Filch of the incident and tell him to be aware. If by any chance this is a student, there is nothing stopping him or her from turning on classmates or Hogwarts staff. If a Death Eater is indeed behind the attack, then we are in a great amount of trouble indeed."

McGonagall, Snape and Lupin left the room together and Dumbledore's gaze fell to the only remaining person in the room-Amanda Drowry. Drowry was the new Defense Against the Arts teacher. She had not been Dumbledore's first choice due to her parents' dealing with Voldemort when he last reigned, but her knowledge and powers in the Dark Arts in their counter curses was irrefutable. She was the best any American school had ever produced.

"Amanda," Dumbledore said, "forgive me or anyone else that may have even the slightest notion that you were behind this. I know you were in class at the time, and I know that just because your parents had followed the wrong path does not mean that you do or that you must. I ask that you help us find whoever is behind this."

"Headmaster," Drowry replied, "I came to Hogwarts not just to teach, but to help fight this war. I will do anything within my power to help, even if that means hunting down the murderer of an innocent Nymph." Drowry smiled and left Dubmledore's office.

Now that he was alone, Dumbledore could think. But there was nothing worth thinking about that he wished to dwell on. Nothing good seemed to happen anymore. The only interesting things that ever happened caused nothing but rising suspicions.

Many realizations had come to Dumbledore in such a short time. And the most recent was by far, the least welcomed. There was or had been a murderer on the grounds, and Dumbledore knew that it could be a student or teacher next time.

Fawkes flew over to his desk and laid his head on Dumbledore's shoulder. "Yes, my friend, I know you are here to help me, and thankfully I have many people here to assist me." But one of Dumbledore's realizations had been that no matter how many people he had on his side, they were in a great amount of trouble.

There he was. Her first chance to strike had come, and she was going to take advantage of it. She crept forward, quietly. She kept looking around. He never stood around alone, at least not for long. At any moment now his friends could come out of nowhere, and ruin what she was about to do.

Her wand was positioned behind her back; she knew that if someone saw her there would be no way of talking herself out of this mess. She would have to go through with it, and not get caught.

She was directly behind him now, but he was moving! He turned around at the sound of her last foot fall. He smiled underneath those big blue eyes and mop of bright red hair, then, nothing.

"Imperio!"


	4. Suspicious Activity

**CHAPTER 4:**

**SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY**

"Harry, come on," Hermione managed to say in between violent fits of laughter. "Ron's waiting for us."

Five minutes ago Harry had started tickling Hermione playfully. It had turned into a full-fledged tickle war. They were both lying on the floor of the common room panting heavily. Hermione had never seen Harry smile like that before. It looked as if nothing, not even the threat of You Know Who, was on his mind. Just her. The thought made her happier than she had ever been before.

Harry leaned towards her and kissed her lightly on the lips. He was doing this quite often now. He had just realized that he liked Hermione and already it felt as if they'd been going out for months. He remembered the way he had kissed her and touched her on that bench. He wanted to do it again. He wanted to do so much more. He didn't even care if it was wrong. Harry wasn't thinking with his head; he wouldn't admit it, but Harry Potter was thinking with his dick.

Hermione got to her feet and pulled Harry up.

"We've gotta go meet Ron, you know he'll be hurt if we don't. Now come on," she said half dragging him towards the portrait hole. Harry and Hermione walked down the stairs and outside. They walked down to the courtyard where they were supposed to meet Ron. But he wasn't there. Hermione looked around.

"Where is he?" she asked. "I don't see him. Ron's never late. Do you think he's mad at us?"

"I don't know," Harry said putting his arm around Hermione. "We can still go see Hagrid though, just the two of us."

"Okay."

Hagrid was in his cabin, but it took a lot of coaxing for Harry and Hermione to get him to open the door. When he finally opened it, Harry and Hermione were shocked by what they saw.

"Hagrid!" Hermione gasped, "What's wrong?" Hagrid's face was red and his eyes were puffy. His beard was sopping wet from what appeared to be tears.

"I uh…I uh…" Hagrid burst into a fresh set of violent sobs. Harry and Hermione managed to get him into his house and sit him down.

"I'll make some tea Harry, you try and figure out what's wrong," Hermione said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hagrid, tell us what happened."

"No, no! I can' tell ya. It's too terrible," Hagrid sobbed.

"Really Hagrid," Hermione said from the kitchen, "maybe we can help. Just tell us what's wrong."

"Twiggy's dead!" Hagrid cried. Harry and Hermione both turned to look at each other. _Twiggy?_

"Uh, who's Twiggy Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"One o' da Tree Nymphs I showed to ya yesterday. 'Es dead, 'es dead." Hagrid burst into tears once more. Fang lay on the floor whimpering. It was several minutes before Harry and Hermione managed to get Hagrid calmed down enough to continue talking to him.

"Hagrid, how did Twiggy die? Was he old?" Hermione asked. "Did he get hurt?"

"No," Hagrid sobbed. "E was murdered! Somebody killed 'em, they did." Harry and Hermione were shocked. They couldn't believe that such a thing had happened, it was too terrible. But, they also couldn't believe that Hagrid would unjustly accuse someone.

"Are you sure Hagrid? Are you sure somebody killed him?" Hermione asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yeah, Dumbledore and Snape said it was…" Hagrid looked around before he answered. He looked back at Harry and Hermione, and then whispered so softly that they had to lean in close to hear what he said. "The said it was da killin' curse!"

"What!" they shouted at the same time.

"How could that be Hagrid?" Hermione cried. "How did Death Eaters get onto Hogwarts grounds? And why would they kill a harmless little Tree Nymph?"

"No!" Hagrid whispered. "Professer Snape thought it were a student killed Twiggy! He told Dumbledore that it coulda been a student."

"But who? How?" Harry asked. "How could a student know an unforgivable curse? Who could be strong enough to use one?"

"Harry, don't forget that you're just a student, but you can produce a real Patronus, and you've used an unforgivable curse. Any number of students at Hogwarts are strong enough to know and use the curse. And don't forget that some of them have parents who are Death Eaters, which would make it even easier for them to know how to use the curse," Hermione said.

She was always right. Harry loved that about her. No matter what he said or did, no matter what happened, you could always trust in Hermione to point out all the facts and the truth. He was daydreaming about her when it dawned on him.

"Malfoy!" he growled.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, think about it. His fathers a very powerful Death Eater. He hates Hagrid, he hates the class, and he certainly isn't beyond doing something like this. You know it Hermione. Hagrid, it has to be Malfoy."

"Hagrid?" Hermione asked, "when and where did you find 'Twiggy?'"

"Righ' af'er yer class with Ravenclaw," Hagrid answered. "One o da girls found him on 'er way down to me cabin."

"See Harry," Hemione said, "it couldn't have been Malfoy. He was on his way to class when the Nymph was found. It has to be someone else, or a Death Eater."

"What did Professor Dumbledore say he would do?" Harry asked, clearly off put that his idea to blame Malfoy had fallen through.

"Well," Hagrid answered, "'e doesn' think a student did it. 'E 'as da teachers an Lupin watchin' the grounds and the school. Speakin' a which, I need ta get in der forest and ask if anyone strange 'as been in there." Hagrid rose from his chair and walked to get his coat. He ushered Hermione and Harry out of his cabin as he called Fang.

"Wait Hagrid," Harry grabbed his arm. "Did you say Lupin? Is Professor Lupin here?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Yeah, 'es 'ere. Should be mighty glad to see all o you too. Speakin' o which, where's Ron?"

"We don't know Hagrid," Hermione said. "We're going to go look for him right now."

"Well okay. Be careful now, you don' know who it was that killed Twiggy!"

They had just left Hagrid's cabin and were heading back to the school. Good, everything was going according to plan. The only thing that mattered now was that she kept that stupid fucking Weasel under her control. He had fought a little at first, but he now resigned himself to simply staring off into space.

_Pathetic _she thought. He was one of Potter's lackeys, not to mention a member of his stupid DA, and he didn't have a clue or the stamina to fight the Imperius curse. She would have to have a talk with Potter about not teaching his followers the essentials. Not that it mattered. No matter what he taught them, or what he knew himself, they would all be destroyed someday. And that someday would be soon.

She couldn't help but smile at what she was about to do. It would immediately distance Potter and Granger from this Weasel, and it would draw the love birds closer, maybe her idea would even do more. Maybe Potter would make her job easier, maybe he would kill the Weasel. It was possible, and it would definitely save her the trouble. She smiled; she knew the perfect way to get to all three of them at once. Yes, Harry could very possibly kill the god damned rat.

She glanced over at Ron who, at the moment, was slouching against the greenhouses. He was staring at Hagrid's cabin, where his friends had just come from. His eyes had a glazed look and there was even a bit of drool escaping from the left side of his mouth. _Disgusting_ she thought. He wiped out all of his strength in the first two minutes trying to fight her hold. Now, until ordered to do something, he didn't even have the energy to turn his head.

"There they go, puppet!" she said glancing at Ron again.

Was that a moan she heard escape from his lips? She laughed. "Moaning and groaning isn't going to get you anywhere but a six foot hole in ground, idiot," she said. "It's time to go."

Harry and Hermione walked into Hogwarts. They couldn't believe what Hagrid had told them. The fact that the killing curse had been used on Hogwarts was not an idea that made them feel particularly safe. And it had reminded Harry about Voldemort.

He hadn't been thinking about Voldemort at all, at least no since he had found out about Hermione. She had taken away all the unhappy thoughts he had, then, with Hagrid's story, they all came bounding back to him. But Harry surely would have felt something if Voldemort or a Death Eater had been near, his scar always warned him about such things. But how could he be sure?

Maybe his continued Occlumency lessons, which he was now taking with Professor Drowry, would weaken his ability to sense Voldemort at all, even through his scar. Maybe Occlumency really was a danger to him. Then, Harry remembered Hermione again. If Death Eaters or Voldemort had gotten onto Hogwarts grounds, then they could do it again. When they did, they might go after the people he cared about. Namely, Hermione and Ron. Then it hit him- Ron was missing.

"Oh God!" Harry said.

"What's the matter Harry?" Hermione asked, somewhat startled.

"If Death Eaters or Voldemort have gotten onto Hogwarts grounds then they could get on the grounds at any time."

"But Harry, I don't see how they could have done it, it's just too…"

"Ron is missing Hermione!" Harry shouted. Hermione's eyes grew at his comment. "You know that the first people Voldemort and his Death Eaters would go after would be my friends."

"Oh my God! Harry we have to find him, we have to…We have to go tell Dumbledore," Hermione said.

"No, he doesn't know what Hagrid old us. It might get Hagrid in trouble if we told Dumbledore we thought Ron has been attacked by Death Eaters."

"Please don't say attacked Harry, please. It scares me."

Just as Hermione and Harry were standing there arguing over what to do, a tall lanky figure walked into Hogwarts from behind them. He didn't try to hide the sound of his foot falls on the floor. Harry and Hermione turned around to see who had walked in, and to make sure they weren't overheard talking about Voldemort or his Death Eaters.

"Ron!" Hermione screamed. She ran to him and grabbed him in a hug. Ron smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's okay Hermione, I'm fine," he said.

"How did you know we were worried about you?" Harry asked. "Where have you been, you weren't there to meet us."

Ron just smiled at Harry's questions. He put his hands into his robes for something. The next thing Harry saw was Ron's wand pointed straight at his face.

"Stupefy!"

Hermione screamed as Harry fell to the floor. She tried to grab him, but was stopped by Ron's arm.

"Nooooo!" she screamed as Ron pulled her along the ground. "What are you doing, what did you do? Ron?"

Ron continued dragging Hermione across the floor, he didn't even miss a step or slow down to point his wand at Hermione and say, "Silencio!"

Hermione tried to scream, she clawed, bit and cursed. _Hogwarts is always crowded_ Hermione thought. _How can nobody know what is going on?_

_God damn you Ron! Stop it!_ He was really hurting her now. His grip on her was so tight she could barely breathe, and he was dragging her up the stairs. Hermione reached inside her robes to get her wand. _Friend or no friend, something is not right._

"Expelliarmus!" Ron shouted. Hermione's wand flew out of her hand and down the staircase. It stopped directly beside Harry's body, which was rigid on the floor.

_What the fuck are you doing Ron?_ Hermione wanted to scream as she tried to get away from him.

"Mandrakonus portomatus!" Ron said to the Fat Lady as she swung open.

"What in God's name are you doing to that poor girl, boy?" the Fat Lady shouted after him. Ron ignored the portrait and ran up the staircase leading to the boys' dormitories, still dragging Hermione behind him. He threw her into the dormitories as roughly as he possibly could. Hermione's head hit the edge of Harry's bed, and everything went dark.

"Well Minerva, I suppose you should go tell Dumbledore that we didn't find anything." Lupin said to Professor McGonagall as they walked into the castle. "There is absolutely no proof that any Death Eaters have been on the premises, which is not to say that there have been, we just can't find any proof."

"I shall tell him Remus. Why don't you go find Harry and his friends, I'm sure they would be glad to see you."

McGonagall walked off in the direction of Dumbledore's office while Lupin walked towards the staircase.

"Harry!" Lupin shouted when he saw him on the ground. He looked Harry over carefully, trying to discern what had happened. Finally, Lupin pulled out his wand and uttered, "Ennervate!"

Harry's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright immediately. Lupin fell against the floor at the shock of Harry's quick movement.

"What happened, Harry?" he asked as Harry looked around quickly.  
"Ron!" he growled. "Hermione!" Harry jumped up and ran up the staircase as quickly as was possible, grabbing Hermione's wand on his way and pulling his own out of his robes.

"Harry, what is going on?" Lupin shouted. He stared incredulously at Harry's stair bounding figure, and then bounded up the stairs after him.

She crawled back onto the bench. She had fallen off five minutes ago when she had started laughing. The best part though, was that it had barely begun.

Hermione screamed. The spell Ron had placed on her had been removed and she had been brought forcibly back to consciousness by a swift tug to her hair. Ron and pulled her off the floor and threw her onto the bed by her hair. She watched as several strands of her wavy, chestnut hair fell from between the usually jovial boy's fingers.

Hermione began to cry. She didn't understand why Ron was doing this.

"What are you doing Ron?" she tried to sound strong, like she always did. But she knew she sounded like a scared and stammering little girl. She was in pain. Her head hurt where she had hit the bed and her scalp burned from Ron's pull. She could feel the bruises on her back from Ron dragging her.

Ron slowly walked around the bed towards her. His eyes were glazed over and his hair was a mess. Hermione thought he looked like a monster, she didn't even think he looked like Ron. Then, as quick as lightening, Ron reached his arm out and grabbed her again. He pulled her towards him and grabbed her by both arms.

Hermione screamed as Ron began to rip her robes of off her. He squeezed his lips to hers and began kissing all over her face, her neck, down to her chest. He ripped her school shirt off, giving him better access to her breasts which he had started to kiss and bite. Hermione squirmed and fought under his grasp, but Ron held her in an iron tight grip and she could do nothing but cry out in pain.

Ron ripped the last of Hermione's clothes off, revealing her pink and naked flesh. But he didn't stop to survey her body, he continued to bite and kiss as he climbed on top of her naked and fighting form. Hermione cried out again as Ron twisted one of her arms painfully behind her back.

Ron stopped kissing Hermione and looked at her. He removed his pants.

Harry ran towards the Fat Lady, who was crying.

"Mandrakonus portomatus! Mandrakonus portomatus!" Harry shouted, before he was even close to her.

The Fat Lady swung forward to let him in crying, "Please go save that poor girl!"

Harry bounded into the common room, seeing no one in it he ran for the only other place Ron could have taken her- the boys' dormitories.

"Wait for me!" Lupin shouted at the Fat Lady and Harry. He ran into the common room and followed Harry up the stairs.

"Please Ron, NO!" Hermione screamed as Ron tried to separate her legs. "NO!"

Ron succeeded in spreading Hermione's legs when he was pulled off of her and thrown against the wall.

Harry had come bounding into the room like a crazed man. Hermione grabbed the blankets on the bed and pulled them over herself to hide her nakedness.

"Harry, don't…!"

Harry had both his and Hermione's wands in his hands he pointed them at Ron and opened his mouth…

"I'm sorry!" Ron shouted. His arms flew up to cover his face when he saw Harry with the wands. "Please don't, oh God! I'm so sorry!" Ron glanced up at Harry, his gaze shifted to Hermione who was crying on his bed, covered only by a blanket. Ron's eyes grew big at the sight of her. "Oh God! Oh my God!" he cried. "What did I do? What happened?"

Just then, Lupin burst into the room. The first thing he saw was Hermione on the bed. Her clothes lay in tatters all about the room and she was in tears.

"Oh my goodness!" he said. But then his gaze shifted to the corner of the room when he heard several quickly murmured apologies. There Harry, had his wands pointed directly at Ron.

Ron started crying in the corner. He sank into a ball and sobbed with his head in his hands. Harry walked over to Hermione and picked up her sobbing form, still wrapped in Ron's bed sheets, and carried her out of the dormitory. Harry walked right past Lupin without saying a word.

"Ron? What happened, what did you do?" Lupin asked. He was mystified and stunned, but more than that, he was disgusted. He couldn't believe that this could have happened at Hogwarts; and he would never have imagined that Ron would try to do such a thing to his friend.

"I don't know what happened. I don't remember!" Ron sobbed. "I was waiting for Harry and Hermione; we were going to visit Hagrid. Then I was here, suddenly. I don't remember anything, but somehow, I feel like I did something terribly wrong! What happened?"

"Stupid fucking bastard!" she screamed. He had freed himself from her control. She sighed. It was bound to happen eventually, but ten more seconds and Potter would have sent his beloved Weasel to his grave.

But at least the main purpose had been accomplished; Potter was no longer bound to his red haired ferret. And he was even closer to Hermione. And if she wanted to, she could put the Weasley back under her control at any time. He had been a great subject, and easy to control, until the point where he had finally broken free of her hold on him.

Luckily, she had thought of the idea of altering his memory. It would be very difficult for him, or anyone else for that matter, to figure out what happened and who did it to him. Besides, Weasely'd be dead before anyone got the chance.

"What are you doing out here?"

She glanced up and saw Padma Patil. There simply was no escaping the idiots at this school.

"I don't mean to be rude," Padma continued, "but you've been acting very strange lately. In fact, I think you've been acting kind of, well, suspicious."

"Really, suspicious? Concerning what, exactly?" She smiled at the girl.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked Hermione. He laid her down on the couch in the common room. She was still crying. "What happened? He didn't really…did he?"

Hermione shook her head. She looked up into Harry's dark emerald eyes. "He tried," Hermione answered. Harry grabbed her and pulled her close to him. He buried his face in her hair, smelling the strawberries. He had no idea what to think. All he knew was that his best friend had tried to rape his girlfriend.

"What are we gonna do?" Hermione asked.

"Exactly what we should do," Harry answered. "We'll tell Dumbledore."

"Harry, you can't!" Hermione cried.

"Why not? Hermione! Do you know what he did to you? Do you know what he could have done to you? The bastard is obviously fucking jealous, and I'll burn in hell before I ever let him get away with what he did to you!" Harry growled.

Hermione started to cry again. She looked up into Harry's eyes, "I don't know what happened Harry! It was almost as if…as if it wasn't Ron. His eyes were all funny, and his voice was different. Harry, I don't know what to think, but I can't believe that Ron would try to hurt me! He's a brother to me!" Hermione was sobbing hard again.

Harry squeezed her tight against. He didn't care that she lay on the couch naked and that there was nothing but a thin white sheet separating them from each other, all that mattered right now was Hermione.

Lupin walked down the stairs from the dormitories. He looked as if he had aged ten years in the last ten minutes.

"Harry, Hermione, I'm very sorry. I wanted to tell you, Harry, that you did a very wise thing in not harming Ron. He's in the dormitory right now, don't move him or try and talk to him. He's very upset, and he's very sorry for anything he's done. Harry, I want you to take Hermione to the hospital ward. I'm going to go speak with Dumbledore, we should be in the ward shortly to find out what exactly happened."

Lupin walked out of the common room and through the portrait hole. Harry picked Hermione up in arms again and walked her towards the portrait hole. He kissed the top of her head and carried her towards the hospital ward.

Hermione felt safe against his muscular chest. She was scared, upset, and hurt; but just being this close to Harry and feeling his arms covering her protectively, made her happy. She smiled and fell asleep against his chest.

Fifteen minutes later Dumbledore came into the hospital wing.

"How is she Poppy?" he asked walking towards Hermione.

"She's okay now Headmaster. She was banged up pretty good though when Mister Potter brought her in though," Madame Pomfrey answered Dumbledore. "She had bruises all over her, and a big bloody knot on the back of her head. But she's okay now, all fixed up!"

Dumbledore walked over to the bed and looked down at Hermione. She looked much better. Harry was sitting in a chair beside her bed, holding her hand tightly.

"Well Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "It has come to my attention that you have been through a rather horrifying experience. While I'm sure you want too get all of this done and over with. I request that you and Mister Potter go to the Great Hall and have some supper first. It will make you both feel better, and then we shall go to my office and get to the bottom of these regrettable circumstances; hopefully we will be able to find out who is behind these suspicious activities."

Dumbledore gave both Hermione and Harry a cheerful and uplifting smile and walked out of the hospital wing.

"Well child, you can go now. Do as the Headmaster said, some food will do you good!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed as she helped Hermione out of her bed.

Harry took Hermione back to the common room and waited while she got dressed in her dormitory. When she came down they walked to the Great Hall together, Harry grasping Hermione's hand tightly the whole time. Neither of them spoke, about anything. They sat down at the Gryffindor table and ate in silence. Ron was not present.

As Hermione finished eating, the Great Hall was silenced by a shrill scream. The teachers all jumped out of their chairs at the sound and walked towards the doors that led out of the Great Hall. But before they reached them, they were shoved open by a terror stricken girl.

Parvati Patil fell on the floor in front of the teachers, crying hysterically. The only thing they could get her to say was definitely something not welcome to their ears.

"She's dead!" Parvati continued to scream. "Padma is dead!"


	5. Coming Together

**CHAPTER 5:**

**COMING TOGETHER**

Parvati collapsed in the Great Hall. Hagrid picked her up and carried her out of the Great Hall with Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers.

"Hagrid," Dumbledore said, "If you would please take Miss Patil to the hospital ward? Thank you. As for the rest of us," he said looking at the rest of the teachers, "we need to search the school. Amanda, would you please go to Argus' office and inform him of the situation. We need his help to find the girl."

Amanda Drowry walked off in the direction of Argus' office while the rest of the teachers began to discuss how they should search.

"I don't really see the need for us to split up," Snape stated. "The girls body can't be in too secluded an area or her sister would never have found her."

McGonagall frowned at Snape's seemingly indifferent attitude, but agreed that her body was more than likely in a rather public place. At that moment Filch came running up the hall with his lantern, which was hardly needed due to the light issuing from Drowry's and several other teachers' wands'.

"Headmaster," he wheezed from being out of breath, "I know where she is. Mrs. Norris just found her."

Dumbledore and the teachers followed Filch up the staircase as he led the way to Padma's body. Mrs. Norris came running towards them from around a corner, meowing loudly. They followed her around the corner to a girls' toilet, the door stood wide open. And there, hanging just inside, was Padma's body.

Harry and Hermione looked questionably at each other. Padma was dead. The news was a shock, to the whole school. Padma may not have been a good friend to Harry and Hermione, but they knew her sister, Parvati, pretty well. And Ron had taken Padma to the Yule Ball in their fourth year.

Padma was dead. Harry couldn't figure out how such a thing could happen. It was quite possible she could have slipped on the stairs, or, well, anything could have happened. But, it was terrible. Harry couldn't begin to contemplate how Parvati felt, or how Mr. and Mrs. Patil would feel when they got the news of their daughter's death. Harry was just thinking how he really wanted to get out of the Great Hall, when Ginny ran over to them from the other side of the table.

"Hey, do you guys know where Ron is?" she asked. "He was acting really weird when I saw him this afternoon, and now there's a rumor spreading that he attacked someone? I'm really worried."

"We don't know where he is," Hermione answered truthfully, and before Harry spit out the whole story. "Last time we saw him he was fine, just a little shaken." Hermione grabbed Harry and pulled him away from the table and towards the exit before Ginny could continue questioning them.

Harry and Hermione glanced down the Ravenclaw table as they walked past it. Padma had been in the Ravenclaw house and everyone at the table seemed to be quiet and thoughtful. One of the girls, Orla Quirke, was crying silently next to a freckled brown-haired boy. The only person at the table not acting like that was Luna Lovegood, who was staring at Harry and Hermione. Hermione smiled at Luna, being they had become fairly good friends last year. But Luna frowned harder at Hermione when she did this. Harry quickly pulled her past the table.

Harry and Hermione left the Great Hall. They walked slowly up the stairs towards the dormitory. They needed to be alone. Not for romance, not for passion. With everything that had happened to day, they had no need for any of that. They just wanted to lie in each others arms and feel safe. They needed to feel safe.

They didn't talk. There was only one thing they could talk about, and neither of them wanted to discuss it. Hermione knew he was mad, and at the same time guilty for almost hurting Ron. She was scared. Hermione had never thought Ron could ever have done something to hurt her. But she couldn't forget what had happened mere hours ago, she also couldn't help but remember the way his eyes had looked- possessed, as if just beyond them, someone else was there hurting her. Someone other than Ron. But maybe that was what she wanted to think.

Harry was also contemplating what had happened today. Somehow, even though Ron's curse had knocked Harry out for several minutes. The second he had awoken, he had known Hermione was in danger. Harry had run to the common room, he hadn't known why. Something inside of him had just led him there. He could have been wrong. Ron could have taken Hermione anywhere. Harry cringed at the thought. If he had been ten seconds later, Ron would have succeeded in raping Hermione.

Harry's thought were interrupted when he heard a loud creak behind a nearby guard armor. He instinctively grabbed Hermione and pushed her behind him. When he looked, he saw a hooded figure crouching behind it.

Harry nodded towards the guard armor with his head. Hermione watched as he pulled the hooded person out from behind the guard armor and whipped off the hood.

"Marietta?" Hermione said, shocked.

"What?" she screamed. She fought Harry's hold, but he was much taller and stronger than her and was not having a problem holding on to the fighting girl.

"What are you doing down here? Why are you hiding?" Harry asked.

"None of your business," she spat. She stopped squirming in Harry's arms and looked straight at Hermione. "You did it, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said, a bewildered expression on her face.

"I spent the whole summer in St. Mungos. All because of the acne I got cursed with last year! It was you wasn't it, you were the one who wrote 'SNEAK' across my face in those hideous blemishes. Only a stupid mudblood would do such a…" Marietta stopped shouting and fighting. She seemed to be thinking about what she had just been saying. Then she started up again.

"Only a stupid mudblood would do such a thing to anyone! I was just trying to follow school rules!" Marietta shouted at her.

Harry threw the girl on the ground and whipped out his wand. Hermione had been through too much today as it was; the last thing she needed was a girl with a grudge calling her mudblood.

"Harry!" Hermione grabbed his arm and pointed it away from the figure on the ground. "Yes, Marietta, it was my charm that gave you the acne, but you broke an oath. You deceived us all. You deserved what you got. Now go!" Hermione pointed down the hallway, away from them, and grudgingly, Marietta complied.

Harry looked at Hermione, wonder etched on his face. He never would have believed she had the kind guts needed to tell someone to their face that she had jinxed them, then order them away. At that moment, when Hermione's eyes moved away from the fleeing girl and met his own, Harry forgot all about what had happened earlier. He forgot about what Hermione had been through, and that he just wanted to hold her. Because, he didn't want to hold her, he wanted to do so much more.

Ron was sitting in Dumbledore's office. That's where Dumbledore and Lupin had taken him. Luckily, nobody had tried to question him about what had happened yet. He just wasn't up to it.

Ron looked absently at the sight of the roast chicken and mashed potatoes on Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore had brought him his dinner here. He had said that it was probably best he stay away from Harry and Hermione for a while. Ron didn't feel like eating though. He had spent a good part of the last several hours in tears. He wanted to think about what had happened, he wanted to figure it out. But every time he tried, the only thing he saw was Hermione lying naked on his bed, wrapped in his white sheet, bruised and crying.

Ron didn't have a clue what happened. He didn't know how he got there, how she got there, and he had no clue why Harry looked as if he could have killed him. Of course, at the sight of Hermione- and later himself- Ron had guessed what had happened. He had attacked, and probably raped his friend. His friend, who was so much like a sister to him. The one person who would always be there for him with the best advice, the warmest smile, and the biggest hugs. Hermione.

Ron shook all thoughts from his head. Thinking about the situation only made him feel terrible, and he had spent the whole evening feeling terrible. The only thing left for Ron to do was to eat his supper, figure out what happened and why he couldn't remember anything, and apologize to Hermione. He wanted his friends back, he missed them.

"It appears she hung herself, headmaster," Filch said at the sight of Padma's body. "Though why I don't know."

"Well that's obvious," Snape said rolling his eyes. "Unless you were a psychic far beyond the powers of Professor Trelawney, you wouldn't know why she decided to kill herself, would you Mr. Filch?"

Filch bristled at Snape's remark but made no reply, he knew better than to draw the Potions master into an argument.

Filch had untied the rope from around Padma's neck and she was now lying on the floor. McGonagall was around the corner trying to compose herself. It had definitely come as a sock to see Padma hanging in the air like that; there were only a few teachers who seemed fairly unaffected by the sight of her body.

Dumbledore looked at the body of young Padma in silence. It had been a very long time since Dumbledore had been faced with his first dead student, and it never got any easier. Dumbledore sighed. He hated showing such weakness and indecisiveness in front of the staff, but sometimes it got to the point where even he couldn't be sure of things.

"Well," Dumbledore finally spoke up, "I shall have to contact the girls' parents concerning the tragedy. Flitwick, if you could please help Argus transport the girls' body to the hospital ward. Make sure that she is placed in a concealed corner, we don't want any student's stumbling across her. Severus, I would like you to return to the Great Hall and inform the students that they are not to go wandering around. Also tell them that I will make a formal announcement concerning the girl in the morning at breakfast. Minerva, if you are feeling better, I would like you to go to the hospital ward and keep a close eye on Parvati, I would like to know when she wakes up."

The teachers all nodded and left, except for Drowry.

"Headmaster," she said, "do you have any thoughts?"

"No, I do not Amanda," he answered. "Young people often find themselves in situation they do not like, and sometimes they only see one escape. With the threat of Voldemort lurking ever closer, it is not shocking that some students would seek to get away from that."

"Does that mean you think she truly killed herself?"

Dumbledore turned and looked at Drowry. He had a frown upon his face and he looked deep into her eyes. Drowry never moved he gaze away from Dumbledore's. She was a strong witch, and very determined. She always spoke her mind, and unfortunately, because of her previous experiences and connections, she was oftentimes right.

"What do you think happened?"

"I'm not sure," Amanda replied. "But I do know Padma. I have never seen her exhibit a single sign of fear or weakness ever in my class, and as you know, there are many frightening things the student's face behind my classroom doors. She met every creature, every problem, with will and determination- and those are not characteristics that you find in people who kill themselves."

Drowry walked away after finishing her comment. She had meant to give Dumbledore something to think about, and she had. Her work here was done- for now.

She wondered where that Weasel was right now. Hopefully they had him locked up somewhere; hopefully they were going to send him packing home. Oh, wouldn't that be brilliant. With a single swipe of her wand, she had turned the Golden Trio in a Golden Duo, and ruined someone's life. Her master would be proud.

She stumbled slightly on a hidden stump and immediately regained her footing. What she was doing was dangerous, but The Dark Lord had requested a conference and she couldn't disappoint him- that would be death, no matter who you were.

"So, the prodigal daughter returns." She turned once again to look into the cold eyes of The Dark Lord.

"Master," she said, "I've come."

"Yes, and it seems you have done a marvelous job," he actually smiled, his teeth sharp points under his lips.

"What do you wish of me?" she asked.

"Nothing new. I simply wanted to know how you felt the operation was going?"

"Wonderful Master. Everything has gone according to plan, and no one suspects me- I'm sure of it! I know my plan will work Master, it's only a matter of time before I get the mudblood."

"Well, it seems as if everything is coming together perfectly. You have done well, daughter."

Dumbledore left the bathroom where Padma had been found and walked towards his office. He knew Ronald Weasely was up there waiting, but Dumbledore knew he did not have the strength to question him tonight. He gave the gargoyle his favorite password- lemon drop- and entered his office.

Ron shrunk as Dumbledore entered and sat down in his favorite squashy chair. Dumbledore looked him in the eyes, trying to figure out what to do with him.

"Mr. Weasely, due to a recent tragedy I will not be questioning you tonight. Instead, I shall send you to a special guest room in the castle, where you can sleep away from both Harry and Hermione, and then we shall find out exactly what happened this afternoon."

Just as Dumbledore finished, Lupin walked into the room with a surprised look on his face.

"Dumbledore, I just heard about Padma. What exactly…" Lupin stopped when he noticed that Ron was still seated in the office.

"Padma?" Ron asked. "Padma Patil? Is she okay, what happened? Is that the tragedy you were talking about Professor Dumbledore?" Ron had risen from his seat and looked at both Dumbledore and Lupin in turn.

"That, shall have to wait until tomorrow as well Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said. "Remus, would you please escort Mr. Weasley to the first floor guest room, he will be staying there tonight. It is just behind the guard armor next to the portrait of the Lady in Purple. The password is 'Snuffles", as it was usually him who uses the room."

The mention of Lupin's best friend brought both sadness and happiness to him. Sirius Black, or "Snuffles", had died the previous year, murdered by his sister Bellatrix Lestrange. Ron too seemed saddened by the mention of the cheerful animagus who had been Harry's godfather.

"Come on Ron, you should get some rest," Lupin put his hand on Ron's shoulder as they walked out the door.

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. Never in his life had he felt so unsure and defeated. Hours ago, Ron, a prefect, had attacked another prefect and his friend. Now Padma lay dead in the hospital wing. Maybe Drowry was right.

"I'm tired Fawkes," Dumbledore said to the Phoenix now perched on his desk. Dumbledore knew he had to be strong. Strong for Harry, strong for the staff, strong for everyone. But, right now, Dumbledore couldn't be strong. The sight of Padma's dead body and the tale of Ron's horrific deed had broken Dumbledore. Two seemingly small things in the middle of a desperate war, and Dumbledore felt defeated.

Fawkes nipped his ear and cooed to him.

"Yes, you are right my friend," Dumbledore said stroking the Phoenix. "I must be strong." At that moment the door to Dumbledore's office flew open and a tall pale figure glided in, his long blonde hair flowing behind him.

"Well, good evening Lucius," Dumbledore said politely and welcomingly, though he was very irritated by the man's timing and rudeness. "I'm afraid I didn't hear you knock."

"That's because I didn't," said the cool calculation voice of Lucius Malfoy, a known Death Eater. He had cleverly escaped Azkaban once, mainly through his riches, and Dumbledore was fairly sure that he was still up to his filthy and unforgivable practices. "I practically own this school Dumbledore, and I find knocking beneath me." Dumbledore raised his hands in a seemingly apologetic manner.

"May I ask, at least, what the occasion is that warrants a surprise visit from you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, my son, Draco. I would like a word with him Dumbledore. Immediately."

"Well, you are aware of course that the students' curfew is in five minutes?"

"I dare say you can make an exception," Malfoy growled. "Where is he?"

"More than likely in his common room already, which you know how to find of course from your years at this school. Good evening Lucius," and with those last few words Dumbledore ushered the Death Eater out of his office and sat down at his desk once again.

As all these thoughts ran through Harry's brain, he did nothing but stare into her deep brown eyes. Hermione stared right back into his. Finally, Harry just couldn't control himself anymore. He grabbed Hermione, gently, but firmly, by the arm and gently pushed her through the nearest door.

His lips were on hers before he turned her back around and shoved her against the door. Surprisingly, Hermione did nothing to stop him, only encourage him. She tangled her fingers tightly into Harry's hair. She squeezed her body as close against his as she could, which was difficult due to the fact that Harry's own body had her pinned to the classroom door. His mouth was locked onto hers; his tongue was exploring the inside of her mouth.

Then, his lips began to move away from Hermione's; he began to kiss down to her chin and across her jaw line. Hermione began to kiss Harry's ear as his lips and tongue traveled down her neck. Never had he imagined she would be like this. He had expected Hermione to stop him, to knock some sense into him like she always did. Never had he imagined she would give into this so completely, so willingly.

But Harry didn't really care about that. He cared only about Hermione, and his hands, which had somehow found there way up her shirt. Harry moaned out loud when Hermione bit his ear. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he wasn't about to ruin it.

"Where can we go?" he whispered roughly into her ear. His voice was thick with passion, and he knew that if he and Hermione did not get somewhere soon, he would fuck her right here in the classroom.

"Harry," Hermione gasped. At the sound of her voice, he had expected her to tell him to stop. He expected her to say that this was enough, that they shouldn't and that they couldn't, but her words made him groan with passion.

"There are guest rooms, Harry, all over the school," Hermione was having trouble talking. She was so consumed with passion for Harry and so involved in their kissing, talking was not one of her priorities. "I know where one is, Dobby told me about. I would hide elf hats for SPEW in there."

At her words Harry immediately stopped kissing her, yanked her away from the door. He pulled the door open so violently Hermione was surprised that it didn't come flying off it's hinges. He dragged her back out into the hallway.

"Where?" he whispered in her ear.

Hermione grabbed his hand and led him to the third floor. In a corner, where a staircase led up to the higher floors and eventually Professor Trelawney's Divination class, was a portrait of the Knight Sir. Cadogen.

"Ah, the beautiful Mistress returns for her noble purposes!" the knight shouted at the sight of Hermione. "And she has brought along a friend to assist her in the freeing of the slaves. I ask only for the password we two had agreed upon."

"SPEW," Hermione said, "spelled 'S', 'P', 'E', 'W'."

"You may enter my lady and my lady's friend." The portrait moved aside revealing a large and well decorated room with comfortable furnishings.

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and led him into the room.

"What are you doing here father?" Draco Malfoy asked of his father as they stepped outside of the castle.

Lucius looked at his son, Draco was exactly like his father in every way. He had the same cold, drawling voice, the same blonde hair, the same steel grey eyes, and the same hate for Harry Potter.

"I have come, to give you a mission; a mission directly from the Dark Lord himself."

Draco's face brightened at his fathers words. He wished to be a Death Eater when he was old enough, and now he had the opportunity to prove his skills at an early age.

"Anything, what does He wish me to do?"

"A plan is already in motion; you are simply to assist the girl I say in any way possible, and to make sure that no one is suspicious of her." Lucius stated.

Draco frowned. For a moment he had thought that the Dark Lord was giving him a mission, a mission all his own to bring Potter to his knees. But all he got to do was help some stupid girl with her mission.

"Draco?" his father questioned sternly. He grabbed his sons arms and peered into his eyes, which were quickly becoming level with his own. "You will take this mission and you will serve the Dark Lord! Do you understand me?"

"Who am I helping?"

Harry had never felt like this in his life. For the first time in several hours, he forgot all about what had happened with Ron earlier. For the second time in several days, he forgot all about Voldemort's threat. And for the first time in months, he forgot all about Sirius. All he thought about was Hermione.

The door had barely closed behind them both before they had fallen onto the large bed in the room. Once again Harry had been shocked that Hermione did nothing to stop him. She didn't stop him when he began to take her clothes of, when his lips traveled down her chest; she didn't stop him.

He lay on the bed now, Hermione's lips locked to his own- both of their bodies moving in rhythm to each other. He realized that this was all he had ever wanted, ever needed. Her, right here, right now, underneath him. Harry was happy making love to Hermione.


	6. Falling Hope

**CHAPTER 6:**

**FALLING HOPE**

It was late when Harry awoke. He sat up quickly; shocked that he had fallen asleep at all. Hermione moaned next to him. At the sight of her Harry smiled and gently lay back down underneath the covers. He wrapped his arms around Hermione's sleeping naked form. She was so beautiful, and her body was perfect. Perfect curves, perfect color, perfect texture. He thought about the way their bodies had reacted to each other. It was incredible. It was the most amazing thing Harry had ever experienced.

He looked at his watch. It was 2:30 in the morning. He gently shook Hermione and kissed her lightly on her forehead. She moaned and stretched slightly at Harry's touch. Her eyes fluttered open and looked into his. Harry felt it again. That feeling that nothing else mattered, that all he needed, all he wanted was Hermione. And he did, he realized. He wanted her again, right here, right now.

He moved towards her, a hungry look in his eye. But before he reached her lips, he remembered. He remembered what had happened to her yesterday, with Ron.

Hermione saw the smile fade from Harry's face. The happiness she had seen their just seconds ago was gone. Now his face only showed worry, remorse, and even sadness. Hermione frowned at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.

Hermione's frown deepened at his words. "You're sorry for last night? Why? I..."

"No," Harry answered, "well yeah. I'm sorry because I realized I shouldn't have done that."

"Harry," Hermione whispered. "You didn't do anything. We did that!"

"No, I mean I'm sorry because of what happened to you earlier, with Ron. I forgot. I shouldn't have done that, it wasn't right."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry, exposing her beautiful bare breasts for just a moment. She pulled Harry close to her and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Harry, don't feel bad." She whispered into his ear. "It's not your fault, nothing is. It's not your fault Ron attacked me, and what happened last night wasn't your fault. I think I needed last night, I needed you. I was under so much stress; I just needed to be close to you. I needed you."

Harry pulled Hermione close to him and smelled the sweet scent of strawberries. That's the last thing he was thinking about before he fell asleep entangled with Hermione's body- strawberries.

She was tired from her journey to meet Voldemort. As soon as she walked in through the large front doors, she collapsed in the first room she came to. A classroom. She didn't care, she was exhausted. After the events of last night she had had to run quickly from Hogwarts grounds to Hogsmeade, where she had apparated to Voldemort.

After their meeting, she had been forced to return to Hogwarts in the same fashion. Apparating on it's own was tiring work, but running from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts was murder. But she had to do it, if she didn't, Voldemort would kill her. He would cut her down just like muggle farmers cut down the wheat they grew. If she ran from him, she would have no hope.

Yes, Amanda Drowry knew that the only hope she had of being free from him was sleeping peacefully in the castle somewhere right now. All she could do was hope that The Boy Who Lived would live up to his name and live again.

"You notified your son of his job, Malfoy?"

"Yes my lord," Lucius Malfoy stood with head bowed facing the Dark Lord. Malfoy was a very rich and powerful man, but just thinking about his master frightened him near to death. That was saying a lot considering nothing scared Malfoy. Or at least that was what he liked other people to think.

"And what did your son think of his mission to serve me?" Voldemort asked in his high pitched yet chilling voice.

"He was honored master. He felt privileged."

"No he didn't," Voldemort replied laughing a cruel, cold laugh. "Your son is exactly like you in every way. He was offended and angered by his assignment and the fact that he was not going to have the honor of capturing the Potter boy for himself. He was offended that he had to play second wand and not first. Why do you lie to me?"

"My master I…"

"Are you still faithful to me, Malfoy? Do you believe that I will be stopped again?"

"No master! You will triumph over Harry Potter. I would never think to desert you, master."

"Good! Now tell me, exactly how angered was your son that he had to assist a Ravenclaw?"

"Before we begin eating, I believe it is necessary for me to answer your many questions concerning last night," Dumbledore said standing at the teachers table looking out at the four house tables packed with students.

All the talking in the hall immediately ceased, everyone was eager to know what had happened to Padma and Parvati. Snape had refused to tell them anything last night.

"It is unfortunate news that I must bring you this morning as it appears that Miss Padma Patil is indeed dead. Investigation of the body brought the teachers and I to conclude that Miss Patil hung herself late last night."

The Great Hall broke into murmuring as all the students began talking about what Dumbledore had just said. Everyone in the Great Hall was talking, except many of the Ravenclaws who were crying.

"We are not aware of the circumstances surrounding why Miss Patil committed suicide, or how her sister Parvati managed to find her sister," Dumbledore said, immediately quieting the Great Hall once again except for the sobs coming from the Ravenclaw table.

"As for Miss Parvati Patil, she is still currently in the hospital wing recovery from the shock, other than that she is fine. She will, however, be returning home with her parents tomorrow when they come to pick up Padma. The funeral will be held in Hogsmeade on Saturday. I have been asked to inform you that everyone is welcome to attend if they wish, priority will, however, go to Padma's closest friends and family. Thank you for your time." Dumbledore sat down and everyone began to eat and talk.

Hermione was very silent during breakfast, it worried Harry.

"Hermione, what's the matter? Are you upset about Padma?" Harry was sad of course. He knew Parvati pretty well, but he hadn't know that Hermione would be this upset by Padma's death.

"I just realized something," Hermione said. "About Padma. I just realized how truly awful this is."

"Hey you!"

She stopped in the hallway and turned around to stare at the blond Slytherin that had called out to her. She watched coldly as he walked up and grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk," he drawled, his blue steel eyes glaring at her coldly.

He led her into a nearby classroom. It was deserted this early in the morning. She stared at the Malfoy while he glared back at her.

"Well," she said. "What do you want to talk about? I don't have all day, and I would hate to be found talking to the likes of you."

"The likes of me?" Draco answered. "A Slytherin you mean? I don't see why that should worry you, being you're a Death Eater and all."

Her eyes turned into slits as she stared at him. The anger and envy she had once felt for Draco Malfoy turned into pure hatred.

"How the fuck do you know that!" she growled. She didn't even try to hide the hate and anger in her voice.

"My father told me," Draco answered coldly. "You might have heard of him? Lucius Malfoy, the Dark Lords greatest servant? He told me all about you and your 'plan'."

"So you're here why?" she asked him, ignoring his remarks regarding his father.

"Apparently, the Dark Lord wants me to help you. How I don't know, but that's what I'm here to do."

She watched him for several seconds, looking deeply into his cold blue eyes. She had never expected anything like this to happen. This was her plan, her mission. She wanted to be the one who got the glory for bringing Potter to the Dark Lord. Why would he do this to her?

"Fine," she said. "But you only do what I tell you to do and when, got it?"

"Just because I'm helping you doesn't mean I take orders from you," he replied.

"Fine," she replied. She walked towards the classroom door, not looking back. But before she reached the door she stopped and turned around. "What's in it for you?"

"Hopefully, a good reputation with Dark Lord. Most of us, unlike you, aren't as privileged to be Death Eaters at this age. I've always been told you have to at least have taken you N.E.W.T's to become a Death Eater. But apparently the rules don't apply to everyone." He said coldly.

"Well, Draco, unlike you, I have some skills in the Dark Arts. Skills useful to the master, things that at this age most people, even you god damned Malfoy's, don't have." Draco's frown deepened at her remark. He probably hated her just as much as she hated him.

"If you don't watch your fucking mouth," he spat, "I'm going to have to show you just how much I do know about the Dark Arts."

She laughed. "Oh, I'm trembling," she scoffed sarcastically. "But that's all you're hoping to get from assisting me, a good reputation?"

"Maybe something else," Draco replied, forgetting his hate for her he quickly but thoroughly surveyed her body. "If I'm a good boy."

She walked back into the middle of the room and stood directly before him, her face was a foot away from his.

"Something else, hm?" she asked smiling. Draco began to grin looking at her. "You really are a walking hard on aren't you, Malfoy?"

"At least I'm getting some," he replied coolly.

"Well just remember this," she whispered in his ear, seductively close. "Anything extra you do wind up getting is going to be from me, not from the master. So you had better be a very, very good boy."

At that she turned around and walked out of the room leaving Draco standing there with a mild erection. She didn't have time to fulfill his wild fantasies right now, she had people kill and lives to ruin.

The bell rang just as Professor Drowry had finished assigning their homework, a foot long essay concerning the Legilimens curse and Occlumency. Harry had previously taken Occlumency lessons with Snape, to no avail. He had hated them and dreaded every session, but this year, he found himself enjoying and quickly learning the art of Occlumency.

This years Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and their teacher for that matter, were very unusual. They had spent a good part of the year studying the Dark Arts, and more specifically the Unforgivable curses.

Professor Drowry had told them that because of the war, Dumbledore had allowed her to teach the higher years with a more 'unapproved' curriculum. She had said that the only way to truly protect yourselves as much as possible from the Dark Arts was to know them. So, every week they learned about a certain Dark spell or jinx, and then they would have a homework assignment on how they could use the information they had learned to protect themselves against it.

Incredibly enough, Harry found him enjoying his Defense Against the Dark Arts class as much as he had the year Lupin taught it, maybe even more so.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, can I see you both before you leave please," Professor Drowry asked in her all too American accent. When they both reached her desk she sat down and began to idly pick at her Defense Against the Dark Arts books. Finally she looked at the both of them and spoke.

"I have heard rumors concerning Mr. Weasely," she said. "I do not pretend to know exactly what happened or why, or even if anything has happened at all. But I wanted to inform the both of you to be especially cautious."

Harry sighed, every week it seemed he got lectured by a new teacher concerning his need for caution. Harry was well aware that Voldemort was after him, he was well aware that his life was in danger, and he didn't need everyone reminding him about it all the time.

"What does Ron have to do with us being cautious," Hermione asked, Harry could hear her voice crack when she talked about Ron.

"I don't know the three of you as well as some of the other teachers do, Hermione. But I do know that the friendship you three share is very strong, I don't believe that Mr. Weasely would have done such a thing of his own free will."

"What do you mean by 'of his own free will'?" Harry asked her.

Drowry leaned back in her chair and pressed her fingers together. She wasn't an old witch, in fact she appeared much younger than any teacher Harry or Hermione had ever knew. In fact, the first day they saw her they had mistaken her for a student.

"Harry," she said, it was obvious this was not an easy subject for her to talk about. "A few students have been asking me questions about the Dark Arts, and more specifically about the Unforgivable curses. Strange questions about practicing them and the incantations and even questions about Death Eaters. I approached Professor Dumbledore with my suspicions but he refused to acknowledge any threat."

"Why?" Hermione asked, he eyes widening with realization at what she was being told.

"Partly because Professor Dumbledore does not even want to consider the fact that a student at Hogwarts could possibly know such a thing. It is hard enough for him to know there are children of known Death Eaters right under his nose, it would be even worse to know that any of those children were capable of performing the spells that their parents use. Professor Dumbledore is also wary to believe because of who the students' parents are."

"But Professor Dumbledore's never been wrong, maybe they were just asking about something for the class," Hermione said hopefully.

"Dumbledore's been wrong before," Hermione looked over at Harry when he said this, she had a shocked look on her face. "Who were the students?"

"Normally I wouldn't be able to tell you," Drowry said. "But because of recent circumstances, including the death of young Padma, I feel it is my responsibility to warn you. Their were two of them, Marietta Edgecombe and Luna Lovegood."

"Harry, I'm worried." Hermione looked at Harry after walking out of Transfiguration, later that day.

"What about?" Harry asked placing his arm protectively around her shoulders.

"Well," Hermione looked around, uneasy. "It's Ron, I haven't seen him all day. He hasn't been in any of our classes, Harry. And what Professor Drowry told us about Luna and Marietta? I'm worried about Ron."

Harry rolled his eyes and pulled Hermione down the hallway towards the Great Hall for lunch. "Personally, I don't care," he told her. "Hopefully Dumbledore sent him away somewhere, like back to the burrow where he can't bother you anymore."

"Harry!" Hermone shouted slapping his arm. "How could you say such a thing, he's your best friend?"

"No friend of mine attacks you Hermione. No one! I don't care who Ron thought he was, or how jealous he was, he had no right to touch you," Harry said stepping close to Hermione and placing his hand on her cheek.

"Harry, Ron wasn't jealous. He never was." Harry looked at Hermione questionably. "Harry, he was going out with Padma. That's another reason why I'm worried about him."

Harry frowned at Hermione. "You mean, he never wanted you?"

"Well," she grinned. "He did have a crush on me in fourth year, but he never asked me out. A crush was all it was Harry. He didn't tell you about Padma because, well, he thought you would be jealous."

"Me? Jealous of Ron for dating Padma?" Harry laughed. "Not on his life."

"Harry, be quiet," Hermione admonished when a couple of passing Ravenclaws glared at Harry for his comments regarding their dead friend.

"How could I be jealous?" Harry whispered. "I have you." He kissed Hermione gently on the lips. It was hard for Harry to pull away from her kisses. Every time their lips touched he wanted to grab her and drag her back up to Sir Cadogan's secret room, but every time he found the strength to control himself and he'd pull away.

Just as Hermione and Harry smiled at each other, a disheveled and bleary-eyed Ron walked up the staircase towards them. Ron had been crying, Hermione could tell. She wondered if it was about Padma.

At the sight of Ron, Harry pushed Hermione behind him and stared at his best friend cruelly. It didn't matter what Hermione had told him about Ron, what he had done was still wrong and Harry was not going to forget about it.

Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Several seconds later, he managed to whisper his thoughts.

"Hey guys, I was…"

"What do you want?" Harry asked quickly.

Ron's eyes filled with tears, he looked from Harry to Hermione and then back again.

"I was just wondering…"

"Ron, you have no right to wonder about anything," Harry said. "If anyone has a right to wonder it's Hermione and I. Do you honestly think we want anything to do with you after what you did?"

Hermione tried to move around Harry towards Ron, but Harry stopped her. She was starting to cry.

"Harry please," Ron sobbed, "please just let me ask Hermione a question. I have to know."

Harry nodded his head and looked at Hermione.

Ron looked into her chocolate eyes, "Did I…did I do it? Did I do what I think I did?" he asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Harry asked. "You know perfectly well what you did."

"No," Hermione shook her head, "he doesn't know." Ron's eyes brightened a little at Hermione's words. Hermione had been looking deeply into Ron's blue eyes, and she realized, they weren't the same eyes that she had seen peering out of his body yesterday afternoon. She knew, it couldn't have been Ron. She had been right the whole time, Ron would never have hurt her.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, looking worriedly at her. "What do you mean it wasn't Ron? We both saw him, Lupin saw him!"

"It wasn't him Harry," Hermione shouted. "He would never hurt me."

Ron smiled slightly, "But did I…"

Hermione shook her head no.

Ron sighed visibly and deeply. He felt very relieved by that simple nod, he hadn't raped Hermione. He had tried, but he hadn't done it.

"Did I hurt you?" Ron asked taking a step towards her.

"YOU didn't hurt me Ron, someone else did."

"I don't care who hurt Hermione, but until I figure out who it is that did hurt her, I don't want you to come near her Ron." Harry said. It hurt him to say it, it really did. Ron had been his best friend for over five years, but he had to protect Hermione.

Ron nodded his head and turned to walk down the stairs. Hermione wanted to go after him, but Harry had a hold of her arm again. Ron's foot fell on the first step as he headed down. A couple of steps down he stopped moving. Ron wobbled unsteadily for several seconds, his legs seeming like they had turned to jelly- and then he fell.

Hermione screamed as Ron fell down the stairs leading to the Great Hall.


	7. Anger Management

37

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**ANGER MANAGEMENT**

"Ron!" Hermione screamed as the tall red haired boy tumbled down the stairs leading into the Great Hall. She tried to run down after him but was stopped and forced to move slowly down the stairs when Harry grabbed her arm.

Ron lay in the entryway of the school without moving, his body was a tangled mess. Teachers and students' came poring out of the Great Hall to see what was causing all the commotion and Ron's body was soon surrounded by a hundred curious and shocked students.

Dumbledore and McGonagall ran to Ron's side. McGonagall ordered the students to move away as Dumbledore whipped out his wand and charmed Ron's body to float towards the hospital ward.

"Ron!" Hermione began to shove her way through the mob of students to make her way to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were, but was stopped dead in her tracks by a cold and heartless laugh.

"Well guys," Draco Malfoy laughed loud enough for everyone to hear. "Now you know what happens when you fall for a mudblood! Get it? Fall, for a mudblood!" All of the Slytherins began to laugh heartily at the most recent of Malfoy's bad jokes, the rest of the student body just stared at him in disbelief.

Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it directly between Malfoy's laughing eyes.

"I swear to God Malfoy," she growled, a violent look in her eye. "If I find out you had anything to do with this I will kill you!" Malfoy just stared at her slack-jaw. He would never have imagined that Granger would ever threaten someone like that, even him.

"Hermione, come on," Harry whispered. "Lets go see about Ron."

Hermione lowered her wand and turned away from Malfoy to walk with Harry towards the hospital ward. Malfoy took this as a sign of victory.

"Yeah," he shouted, "and you're next Potter."

Hermione whirled around faster than anyone could have anticipated and hit Malfoy squarely on the nose. The Slytherins all gasped and the rest of the students broke into laughter at the sight of Malfoy's bloody face.

"He's bleeding all over the bloody place," someone shouted out.

Malfoy, escorted by Crabbe and Goyle, hid his face and ran from the area.

"That's what happens when you tell bloody stupid jokes about a mudblood's friends, Malfoy!" Hermione shouted at his fleeing figure. "Get it? Bloody!"

Harry grabbed Hermione and ran in the direction of the hospital ward, she was right. Ron was his best friend, and he needed to find out if his best friend was all right. But Harry didn't have much hope; he had never seen anything like what Ron had looked like at the bottom of the staircase. Harry was very afraid that his friend was dead and that it was all his fault.

"You stupid son of a bitch!" Malfoy whirled away from the mirror he had been staring into to stare at the fiery eyes of the girl who had spoken to him.

"How did you know where to find me?" Malfoy asked sulkily as he returned to staring at what had once been his nose, his voice was barely distinguishable because of his injury.

"Those two idiots you call friends," she answered. "They'll do just about anything for a chocolate frog or two."

Malfoy whirled around again. He was standing in the Room of Requirement, a secret place his father had once told him about. At the moment it was full of medical books and ointments, bandages and just about anything else he would ever need along with the one mirror he stood in front of. The last thing he wanted to do right now was go to the hospital ward where Potter, Granger, Dumbledore and that McGonagall woman were and try to explain his situation. Besides, he was embarrassed enough as it was, he didn't want to give that stupid mudblood the pleasure of knowing he had gone to the hospital ward.

"What do you want?" Malfoy shouted at her. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" she asked him. "How could you do such a thing?"

"I thought I was accomplishing our mission? You started with the Weasel, I was just finishing the job," he spat at her.

"First of all," she said pointing her finger in his face directly at the bloody pulp that currently made up his nose, "this is my mission. You are here to assist, not presume and act on your own! You are second wand, you had better start acting like it. Second, I still had plans for Weasley, plans which aren't going to happen now because you had to go and throw him down a fucking staircase!"

"Don't you ever say I'm second wand! My father is the Dark Lord's right hand man!" Malfoy shouted at her. His embarrassment had turned into pure anger and he was ready to kill again, he didn't care who they were.

"You wish he was, the truth is your father only cares for himself and what benefits him the most. Where was your father those thirteen years that the Dark Lord was barely alive? Where was your father when the Dark Lord tried over and over again to kill Potter? You know where, he wasn't there. He was sitting in his mansion amid his riches living it up. The only reason he answered the Dark Lord's call two years ago was because he was afraid not to. Yeah, you know your father is terrified of the Dark Lord and you know he was punished for doing nothing in service to him those thirteen years. So don't even start to talk about your father being my master's right hand man, your father is lucky he even has a right hand."

Malfoy simply stared coldly at her, he knew she was right. That's why he had done it, that's why he had killed Weasley. He wanted to be better than his father. He wanted to prove to the Dark Lord that he was capable of so much more, he could do the things his father had never been capable of doing before. He wanted to show the Dark Lord that he could take care of Potter and his worthless friends.

"Okay, I know," Malfoy said curing his nose with the spell he just found. "But Weasley deserved what he got. You can't tell me his murder is going to ruin the whole plan."

"No, it's not," she said simply and calmly. "But it takes a lot of my fun away."

Malfoy smiled. _Fun, she was having fun torturing the Golden Trio!_ With every passing second, Malfoy was beginning to like this girl more and more.

"Want to know how I did it?" Malfoy asked, getting as close to her as he possibly could. "I'm sure you do," he whispered in her ear. As he lay her down on a nearby couch he whispered lightly into her ear, "The Jelly legs curse."

"Professor!" Harry shouted as Hermione and he ran towards the hospital ward.

McGonagall glanced towards the two of them as she was closing the doors.

"I'm dreadfully sorry to the both of you," she said, "but I can't let you in right now. You are both to return to the Great Hall for lunch and then Miss Granger will inform the rest of the prefects that the students are to return to their common rooms immediately following the meal." With those words the doors leading into the hospital ward were shut and sealed from inside.

"Professor!" Hermione cried banging on the doors. Hermione sank to the floor crying.

"He's dead isn't he?" she asked Harry.

"I don't know Hermione, I'm sure Ron will be okay. He always has been," he said trying to reassure her. But in Harry's heart, he didn't believe what he was saying. He lifted Hermione up off the floor and led her towards the Great Hall. He didn't want to eat. In fact, he felt so sick that he was sure he would never want to eat again, but he knew he had to try.

At that moment, Ginny came running down the corridor. Tears were streaming down her face as she ran towards Harry and Hermione. She stopped when she saw Hermione crying on Harry's shoulder.

"No!" she said, tears still staining her freckled face. "No, this can't be happening!" Ginny sank to the floor and began sobbing into her hands as violently as Hermione was crying on Harry's shoulder. Thankfully for Harry, Seamus came running down the hall and immediately sat down to comfort Ginny.

Harry was lost. He felt like crying, he wanted to cry. But no tears came. He could only stare straight ahead at the wall, trying to forgive himself for the things he had said to Ron. Harry didn't know how he would live with himself knowing that the last things he had said to his best friend were in anger.

"Come on Seamus," he said to his friend who was trying desperately to comfort his sobbing girlfriend. "Let's get them to the Great Hall."

Amanda Drowry sat quietly in her office. She had witnessed the whole scene, she had scene Ron's mangled body lying on the cold floor at the bottom of the staircase. She had heard Hermione scream and she had watched Dumbledore take his body away.

Her hands shook violently as she tried to contain herself. _Was he dead?_

This was too much. This was too far. It was one thing to attack Potter, but to kill his friends, to torture him like this. She was sick of it! She didn't care what Voldemort did to her, she didn't care what anyone would think about her breaking her cover. She was going to figure out who was behind this, and she was going to start with the most suspicious person.

The four of them sat next to each other at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Everywhere around them people were talking about what had just happened, even pointing at the sobbing girls and Harry. Harry knew they were trying to show sympathy, but it just irritated him. The worst part though was that many of them knew about the fight he had just finished with Ron.

Luna Lovegood was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, staring at him. Harry knew she knew about everything, Luna always did. She knew that Ron had tried to rape Hermione, she knew that Ron and he had just finished having an argument before he fell, and he hoped she didn't blame him.

Harry was in the middle of his musings when all thoughts of Luna Lovegood were forced from his mind by the most blinding flash of pain he had ever experienced. Harry grabbed his forehead and fell to the floor as everything in his vision erupted in a flash of white. Hermione and Ginny both stopped crying and immediately assisted Seamus in lifting him back onto the bench.

"Harry," Hermione asked worriedly, "is it your scar?"

The pain in his head was so terrible that he couldn't nod in answer to Hermione's question. He just clutched his forehead tightly and moaned in agony. Hermione and Ginny immediately started to survey the crowd, looking for any trace of what could have caused Harry's pain. Everyone was eating and talking peacefully, nobody was eve looking at Harry – at least nobody that they saw.

Just then the doors to the Great Hall burst open and Drowry came stalking into the room. She looked frightening; none of them had ever seen her like that before. She walked directly towards the Ravenclaw table and grabbed Marietta Edgecombe who had been peacefully talking with her friend Cho.

Marietta only cried out in surprise as she was lifted from her seat and drug from the Great Hall by Professor Drowry. Harry thought wasn't worried about Marietta, he was worried about the splitting pain he had felt just before Professor Drowry had walked in, and the hot wave of fear and pain that had washed over him when her eyes met his.

Hermione tossed and turned in her bed. It was impossible for her to sleep. None of them had seen either Professor Dumbledore or McGonagall for the rest of the day, and one of the other Professors would say anything regarding Ron.

Hermione knew he must be dead. The Professor's would have let them into the hospital ward to see him if he had been alive, and they hadn't. also, Hermione had seen his body, she had seen him fall. She didn't know who could have survived that, wizard or no wizard. Hermione had spent most of the day crying, just like Ginny. Seamus and Harry had been with them all day, only once did they leave for the owlry after Ginny had written to her mother.

It was 2:30 in the morning by Hermione's watch, and she knew there was no hope for sleep. So against school rules, she got up and dressed. She left the bedroom as quietly as possible so as not to disturb Lavender, Parvati had gone home earlier that day.

Hermione walked out of the portrait hole, ignoring the snort of disbelief from the fat lady and walked towards the hospital ward. She was going find out once and for all if Ron was okay. She was tired of crying over what she suspected as true, she wanted to cry over the truth. She was tired of guessing.

As she got close to the hospital ward, she saw Professor McGonagall exiting the room and closing the large door behind her once again. Hermione ran up to her from the end of the hall.

"Professor!" she cried.

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall said n a reprimanding tone of voice. "What are you doing out of bed. And how dare you go wandering around the castle at this hour, you are a prefect for goodness sakes! However, I suppose that under the circumstances I shall allow you to return to your dormitories without a punishment. Do not behave this way again!"

"I know I shouldn't be out of bed Professor, and I'm sorry," Hermione gasped out of breath. "But I can't sleep, and have to know about Ron!"

McGonagall shook her head and began to walk away down the hall when Hermione caught hold of her arm to stop her.

"Professor please! I have to know!"

McGonagall turned around and looked at Hermione. She looked so tired, so old. She looked so, so…ruined.

All Hermione could say was: "Please!"

"Hermione," McGonagall said as she walked back towards her. She placed both of her hands on each of the sobbing girl's shoulders and hugged her. "Mister Weasley is alive, but we had to transfer him to St. Mungos. We honestly don't know if he will survive this terrible ordeal."


End file.
